Choices
by RixxiSpooks
Summary: The boy was left in a trembling wreck in the middle of the floor, his world having been turned upside-down one too many times." Set in the Doctor's past. Slightly dark. "This was never going to end happily".
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who; never have never will. Life sucks.**

He remained quiet. Quiet, so that neither of them would hear him and remember him; bring him into everything. He wanted to stay hidden away forever, in the comfort of his room. However, even the four walls surrounding him didn't seem like sufficient protection anymore, not from either of them. At one time this would've been where he felt most at home, most safe, but times had changed; his whole world had changed.

In front of him on the shiny wooden floor of his bedroom was a twisted web of glass tubes, rubber pipes, thermal beakers and phials of coloured liquids. The complexity of this kit was way beyond the knowledge of many a species but he knew how to use it. He knew that if he mixed the blue solution with a small piece of dull yellow rock he could produce something akin to gold. He also knew which phials should not be put together after years of experimenting and learning.

The shouting was getting louder, he could hear the harsh voices and the vile words thrown haphazardly about, each of which sent shivers down his spine and made his hearts beat just a little faster. Words were the foundations of his upbringing, the very pillar of his race but these words, the words exchanged between a Lord and a Lady, were too vulgar, too raw and degrading that they made him want to cover his ears and shrink away into nothingness.

Looking out of the window he saw that the two suns of Gallifrey had set and that the sky had turned a hazy burnt orange, the colour so intense that he could not stare at it for too long at a time. Hanging gracefully in the reddish atmosphere was a copper coloured orb that glowed brightly, its light gained from the twin suns; the moon was out.

Footsteps echoed noisily outside the door and he knew they had come for him; they'd come to draw him into their argument. He braced himself, willing his entire being to somehow master the basics of self-teleportation and for every single tiny atom of his body to appear somewhere else; anywhere but this room.

He longed to wake up and find he was lying in his favourite field by the mountains, blades of crimson grass waving gently around him in the cool breeze. Their feather-light touches tickling his skin and stroking his face much in the way that a mother would stroke her beloved child.

He wanted to see the silvery trees that lined the forestland, so beautiful and entrancing that many a wanderer had found themselves trapped for many a day, enraptured by the sheer mesmerising nature.

He wanted to be there, not here, as the heavy wooden door explodes inwards with the force of a hurricane, practically ripped off its hinges. Whilst the man strides into the room, a dark moustache gracing his upper lip and his black hair swept back in a sleek fashion, a blazing look in his chilly blue eyes. He holds himself well, tall and upright, extending his height until he looks impossibly huge; lips set in a thin line of displeasure.

Behind him a woman who is just as imposing stalks inside, her own rose coloured lips pursed with distaste. She has curly blonde locks that look so perfect that they should be fake and dark lashes that circle and enhance her cerulean irises.

Both stare at him with varying looks of excitement akin to the expression a hawk must nurse before it strikes down its unsuspecting prey. He knows what's coming, he can feel it in his bones and his hearts begin to up their already frantic rhythm.

"Boy," the man practically spits, "Your mother and I are having a difficult dispute. It is about you."

He knew how this went. He knew this would end with pain.

"Yes, darling," the woman smiled, displaying an unnaturally white set of teeth, her face as calculating as a snake; "We need your opinion on the matter of whether to send you to the Academy."

"I believe that you should not go and that you should move straight into an apprenticeship in the Citadel whereas she believes that following that route you are more likely to be cast as an Outsider and the safer, nobler option would be the Academy. What is your decision?" the man said.

This particular choice had been a long time coming and the couple had been arguing for weeks, he had heard it all. However, he knew the drill; he would have to answer on the spot, make a snap decision that would influence the rest of his life both career wise and in his relationships with both his parents. Choose one option and he would please one but enrage the other and vice versa; whichever he chose he was sure too lose.

That was how life worked in this family, you had to be a quick thinker and go with your instincts, there was no time to worry about whether the decision you made was right or wrong. It was all based on initial reactions. For example, at the age of three he'd been asked if he would rather live in the Citadel or in the mountains. At that age he'd thought the mountains sounded interesting so that is where they went and he'd been in his mother's favour since. Furthermore, two years later he'd been questioned on whether he wanted to live with his mother's relatives in another settlement for four years, he'd refused and his father had been pleased.

The child, seven and a half years old, looked from one parent to another weighing up the options as fast as he could in his head. His brain was working overtime, whizzing through all the outcomes and possibilities. He worked out which parent he favoured most and the pros and cons of their relationship with him. To be honest neither had ever been a hands-on guardian and neither had outwardly shown love to him. It was a difficult choice but necessary nonetheless.

"I would like to attend the Academy," the boy stated bravely, puffing out his small chest in an effort to look stronger. His mother smiled, her reptilian smile, and turned from the room; she had won this contest.

"So be it," his father growled, that low menacing sound that meant that he was in for a beating. The man lifted his flowing cloak and removed the belt that was shrouded beneath it. He moved forwards, the leather garment held ominously in his hand.

The child shrunk away, avoiding trampling his chemistry set, and moved backwards till he was halted by the wall.

"Don't be a coward about it, boy," the father ordered bringing the makeshift weapon down. His son let out a yelp of pain, tears leaping to his eyes. "You should be used to it by now." He brought the belt down twice more as the youngster writhed in agony.

"Stop, Father," the commanding voice startled them both and the child forced his leaking eyelids open. Standing in the doorway stood a youth, a boy on the cusp of adulthood, yet he possessed maturity beyond his years, an aurora of wisdom and intelligence was almost visible around his sharp form.

"Theta?"

"It's the Doctor to you now, Lord Sigma. I am a fully fledged Time Lord," the figure claimed without a hint of smugness in his voice despite the significance of his words.

"You graduated?" the older man replied not even bothering to hide the astonishment in his words.

"Didn't think I would, did you, Father? Thought I was a lost cause, a loose cannon, the black sheep of this already highly dysfunctional family. Well you were wrong, actually I suppose you weren't wrong about the loose cannon bit as my professors would tell you I'm still unpredictable, but other than that, I succeeded."

"But what are you doing back here?"

"I have come to stop you doing exactly what you are doing right now; hurting my brother. If there's one thing the Academy has taught me its that violence is not the answer and although throughout my childhood I thought you were only doing what was correct in this society I was wrong. That's why I've come to save Kiefer."

"Theta Sigma, you are not permitted to overrule a Lord's wishes. You may be a Time Lord but you are not yet a Lord of Time Lords. The boy stays with me and your mother. He too will be sent to the Academy." Lord Sigma grabbed Kiefer's skinny wrist and shot him a fierce quelling look.

"So be it," the Doctor nodded, a disappointed expression on his face, as he quoted his father's words from earlier unaware. With that, he turned on his heel, his own billowing cloak spiralling out behind him and left.

Kiefer stared desperately after him, willing his strong, brave brother to return. He did not. The boy should've known there was nothing his teenage brother could've done to overpower their father, he was too mighty.

"I must find your mother," Lord Sigma looked down at his son, the shock of his eldest son's return wearing off. He released Kiefer none-too-gently, practically pushing the youngster to the ground before sweeping out of the room.

The boy was left in a trembling wreck in the middle of the floor, his world having been turned upside-down one too many times. However, as he sat there quivering uncontrollably a strange sound surrounded him, something similar to an engine working, all the cogs grating together…

And then the room changed and he was in a completely foreign place with his brother standing over him protectively, a triumphant expression on his face.

"Wasn't that genius?"

**Did you think that the little boy was the Doctor? Tricked you. Any comments will be welcome, criticising or praising.**


	2. Chapter 2

The small boy sat on the edge of a large leather chair, swinging his legs backwards and forwards midair because he couldn't actually reach the floor. He was watching his brother dancing around the strange pulsating column in the middle of this huge, foreign room. And yes, his brother's movement should be described as a dance as everything seemed to flow, his feet seemed to know exactly where they were going and moved with practiced ease whilst his hands fluttered delicately across the control panel, each finger tapping out a rhythm on a variety of coloured buttons and levers.

He wasn't quite sure what to think at the moment. He had been saved from his father's beatings by his wayward brother who had been officially declared disinherited only three years ago. The youngster couldn't remember the exact reason why his brother had been cast away from the family but he remembered being told it was something bad that had brought dishonour to the name of Sigma.

The last time Kiefer Sigma had actually seen his older brother, Theta, was just before their father turned him out. He had memories of a tall, gangly teenager who had been passionate and enthused about pretty much everything he talked about. Theta had played with Kiefer, teaching him things that their father had never bothered to teach him. If it hadn't been for Theta, Kiefer's chemistry skills would definitely not be as far advanced for his age as they were.

But looking at him now, he was a different man. He was no longer his brother, Theta Sigma but a Time Lord, the Doctor. He seemed much more confident and secure in himself than he had been but somehow he still retained that essence of being slightly wild and unrestrained.

Kiefer felt that maybe he should broach the silence that had fallen over the two of them as the Doctor circled the control panel but he was nervous that he may be told off for distracting the man whilst he worked. He remembered when he was younger and his father was concentrating on something he had spoken to him only to be snapped at and punished. Hopefully his brother was different.

"Um…what is this place?" The Doctor seemed slightly startled by the small voice as he jumped involuntarily but he still turned round with a huge grin on his face.

"This is my TARDIS," the Time Lord stated proudly, removing his hands from the controls and gesturing to the space.

"Oh," Kiefer nodded trying to look like he understood what that meant but obviously failing miserably as his brother's face fell.

"Don't tell me you don't know what a TARDIS is?!" the Doctor sounded half angry and the child flinched away registering the edge to his voice. When he saw how he affected the boy however the Doctor looked distressed. "Hey, look, I'm not angry with you, Kiefer."

"You're not?"

"No. I'm angry at our father. In fact, I'm not just angry, I'm furious. And d'you wanna know why?" the man continued without waiting for an answer. "Because he's deprived you of education, of knowledge and no young Time Lord should ever be denied knowledge. It fuels our minds, our hearts and souls. I mean, the children I saw in the Citadel would've known what a TARDIS was. They'd been informed of their inheritance and of their race. It's wrong that you shouldn't know."

Throughout the Doctor's rant Kiefer couldn't help but feel the underlying message was that _he _was stupid and _he'd _done something wrong. He'd always thought that he was quite intelligent for his age, in comparison to the other children where he lived anyway. But now it seemed he was nothing compared to the young of the Citadel who probably thought him as dim as an ape.

"But now you're with me. I can change that. I can make sure you learn about being a Time Lord. Father has been out of the Citadel too long and him being out means that you miss out. Kiefer, I'm gonna make sure you're the cleverest Time Lord youngster there is but I won't do it through classes. We can go exploring, you and me, and I can show you the world. Aha, that's a lyric from a song. Aladdin if I remember rightly. You will see more worlds and more aliens than any child your age has. How 'bout it Kiefer?"

Kiefer felt completely overwhelmed. He wasn't quite sure what he was agreeing too but in true fashion to the way he'd been brought up he made a quick decision, after all he didn't want to anger his brother. Despite the Doctor saving his life and being nice to him now he could turn nasty at any time; just like their father. He decided, in a lightning quick manner, that he would rather go with his estranged brother than stay in his oppressing home.

"I think…I think I would like to travel with you, my brother," Kiefer whispered.

"Great! That's really fantastic 'cos for a moment there I thought you wouldn't wanna come with me!" the Doctor brandished a huge grin, "First things first. A TARDIS is a time and spaceship. It stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space. A Time Lord gets his or her own when they graduate from the Academy as they are specially grown for each student during their time there. Got that? This one's a she and she's my baby."

"How is she your baby if you're male?" Kiefer asked immediately before he could stop himself. When he realised he'd spoken out of turn without being prompted the boy slammed his mouth shut and looked at his brother with frightened brown eyes.

"Good question!" The Doctor let out a bark of a laugh completely missing the fact that the small boy was cowering away from him in fear. "Okay, she's not my baby but I love her to bits. Is that alright?"

"Er…yeah," Kiefer nodded tentatively, surprised that he had not been punished.

"Fantabuloso!" And the Doctor continued his dance around the TARDIS.

* * *

It was several hours later and the Doctor was on his own in the control room. He'd left little Kiefer having a wash in the bathroom before bed. Now he was on his own he had time to think about what he'd done. The crime he'd committed. Because that was the truth of things. He'd actually kidnapped a boy from his family and although he could claim that Kiefer had been abused it wouldn't stand up long in court considering the power of their father. The Doctor was the one in the wrong here in the eyes of Gallifreyan law, he was in trouble.

The repercussions of abduction ranged from a prison sentence to execution depending on the significance of the child taken and the length of absence. Considering the Sigma family was of high stock and the Doctor wasn't planning on bringing Kiefer back any time soon he was definitely looking at the latter punishment. But not even that could make him regret what he had done: rescuing his helpless brother from a childhood of pain and misery at the hands of their manipulative parents.

Despite the initial glory of saving his brother and the gratitude that he was certain Kiefer must feel towards him the Doctor couldn't help but feel that the boy had a long way to go before complete trust and acceptance of the older Time Lord. To be honest, he couldn't be blamed for his wariness considering his previous existence and the fact that the Doctor was really hardly more than a stranger. It would be a hard, long battle to gain the child's love but Theta Sigma did not give up easily as he'd proven at the Academy.

* * *

The Doctor wandered casually into the room of the TARDIS he'd given to Kiefer as his own trying to seem friendly and unimposing. He ran a long fingered hand through his dark almost black tufts of hair in an attempt to gather his thoughts together.

Kiefer had already clambered into his huge king sized bed and looked ridiculously small beneath the covers as if the duvets were drowning him in material. His solemn brow was creased in its customary frown of uneasiness and his large chestnut eyes were as intense and deep as bottomless pools of chocolate. In contrast to his dark facial features a few of his white blond locks fell over his creased forehead adding a more innocent look to the serious expression.

"G'night, Kiefer," the Doctor tried his jovial approach, a disarming smile plastered across his face. "Don't let the bed bugs bite."

"Good night, Doctor," Kiefer replied out of politeness. The manners drilled into him since birth forcing a smile to turn the corners of his mouth upwards. To him the smile seemed fake and wrong, more like a twisted grimace but fortunately the Doctor breezed over the realness of the gesture and took it for genuine. He believed he was already making progress; he had no idea of the depth of the subservient and compliant nature engraved into his brother's entire being.

**Review please. Comments welcome!**


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